As unmanned systems such as remote vehicles become more commonplace in military, police, and other security forces, they are tasked to perform missions for which the original hardware was not designed. Many existing remote vehicles are built for rough outdoor conditions and have strong inflexible manipulators designed to handle a wide range of operations. These manipulators may not be well suited for some essential indoor tasks, including opening doors. Door opening is a complicated kinematic task that can challenge the remote vehicle and its operator.
When a human approaches a door they follow a subconscious routine developed though years of practice. The human spots the door and the latch mechanism and adjusts their gate to ensure that when they reach the door they will be leading with the proper foot. As they reach for the door knob or lever, their hand assumes a grapple pose correctly oriented to mate with the mechanism. Just before contact the hand slows its approach and closes on the knob or lever. Once the hand closes on the knob or lever, the wrist twists and the door is pushed open. The human arm's compliance allows the person to impart the force required to open the door without kinematically linking the body to the door. As a result, the person walks though on their path of choice while the door swings in an arc.